Automatically ignited lighter



g 1957 M. E. LIESSE 3,336,505

AUTOMATICALLY IGNITED LIGHTER Filed Feb. 8, 1965 3 sheets sheet 1 MAOre/CE 1 MRSSE 9 M. E. LIESSE 3,336,505

AUTOMATICALLY IGNITED LIGHTER Filed Feb. 8, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 M. E.[JESSE AUTOMATICALLY IGNII'ED LIGHTER I: Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 8,1965 MAUR/CE E. L/EssE ATTY United States Patent '0 3,336,505AUTOMATICALLY IGNITElD LIGHTER Maurice E. lLiesse, 2 Rue Diderot,Champigny, France Filed Feb. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 431,063

7 Qlaims. (Cl. 317-86) ABSCT 01F THE DISCLOSURE An automatic lighter hasa plunger which is spring urged downwardly and which is maintained inraised position by the support on which the lighter rests. When thelighter is lifted, the plunger drops and (1) opens a gaseous fuelreservoir; (2) swings one electrode adjacent the other electrode; and(3) flicks a vibratory switch to produce a series of currents throughthe electrodes. One of the electrodes is the gaseous fuel outlet nozzle.

This application is a continuation-in-part of copendin patentapplication Ser. No. 258,797, filed Feb. 15, 1963, now Patent No.3,193,642, issued July 6, 1965.

The present invention relates to burners incorporating automaticigniting means, and particularly to small, selfcontained devices of thistype adapted to be picked up and held in the hand.

This invention concerns devices which burn liquid or gaseous fuels inorder to produce small flames for lighting cigars, cigarettes, or thelike, or for providing small emergency lights.

The prior art contains many such devices, all of which have two basicelements in common with the present invention: an element forfeedingfuel to a combustion zone in communication with the air; andmeans for generating suflicient heat to ignite the fuel.

However, all of the commonly used prior art devices have the drawbackthat they require a multiplicity of operations to produce a flame; eventhe simplest of these devices must first be picked up and then subjectedto at least one simple or complex manipulation which exposes the burnerto the air and/ or triggers the fuel igniting system.

The prior art devices which have, to date, required the simplestmanipulation are those which produce fuel ignition by the spontaneousheating experienced by an exotic material when exposed to the air. Insuch devices it is therefore only necessary to expose this material tothe air in order to ignite the fuel. However, these devices presentserious drawbacks in that: the exotic material is quickly used upbecause it continues to be heated as long as it is so exposed, i.e. aslong as the lighter is in use; this material could become dangerous ifaccidentally exposed to the air without the users knowledge; and suchmaterials are relatively expensive.

Other fuel ignition systems have been proposed which comprise a pair ofspark electrodes disposed on opposite sides of the fuel combustion zoneand an electric oscillator circuit connected across said electrodes forgenerating a series of gas-igniting sparks therebetween. The oscillatormay be triggered merely by lifting up the device, and hence itsoperation is relatively simple. Despite the simplicity of its operation,this device also presents serious drawbacks because a large quantity ofelectrical energy is required since its particular electrode arrangementrequires a high voltage to create sparks (for reasons which will bediscussed below) and since the oscillator continues to operate, and toproduce sparks, for as long as the device is in use.

It is therefore an object of this invention to eliminate the above-noteddrawbacks.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to ignite a fuel,by merely picking up the lighter device while using a system which onlyoperates for the period required to produce ignition.

A further object herein is to ignite the fuel by means of a series ofsparks passing between a point electrode and the outlet end of the fuelburner orifice.

Yet another object of the invention is to produce the ignition sparkswith the aid of a mechanical vibrator which is actuated by the action oflifting the lighter device and which is reset by replacing the lighterdevice on a sup port surface.

Still another object of the present invention is to produce a lighterdevice which is highly reliable and which is economical to use.

Briefly stated, the present invention contemplates the construction of alighter which may be used, for example, as a cigarette lighter or as atemporary night light and which can be made to produce a flame merely bypicking it up from its resting place. To thi end, the novel structure ofthe invention comprises: a spring-loaded lever and actuating rodterminating in an abutment which bears against the surface upon whichthe device normally rests so as to maintain the device in an inactivecondition; a mechanical vibrator connected to a source of electricalenergy and adapted to produce a train of current pulses when triggered,said vibrator being triggered by the movement of said lever and rodunder the influence of their spring when the device is raised from thesurface upon which it normally rests; and a pair of electrodes connectedto said vibrator and placed in proximity to the fuel outlet so as toprovide a train of sparks, generated by said vibrator current pulses,for igniting the fuel.

In addition, when a gas fuel, such as butane, is used, the lever andcontrol rod are arranged to open the gas reservoir outlet by the samemovement as that which I triggers the vibrator.

According to a valuable auxiliary feature of the present invention, oneof the electrodes is constituted by the fuel burner tip itself, whicharrangement simplifies the overall structure and substantially reducesboth the voltage and energy required to produce sparks.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more readily apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken together with the attached drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention with its casing removed;

FIGURE 2 is a partly schematic top view of the device of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane III-III ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURES 4a and 4b are cross-sectional views taken along the plane IV-1Vof FIGURE 2 and showing the device in its rest condition and in itsactivated condition, respectively;

FIGURE 5 is a detail view of the electrodes of the present invention.

Since all of the figures represent a single embodiment, they will bereferred to as a group in the following detailed description.

As may be seen in the various figures, and most clearly in FIGURE 1, thepreferred embodiment of the present invention is presented in the formof a cigarette lighter intended to be kept on a desk or table andconstituted by a support carrying the various working elements of thelighter and inserted in a cylindrical base 2 whose lateral wall actstogether with an external shoulder 1 of support 1 to form a groove intowhich fits the lower end of a decorative casing K for the assembly. Thiscasing may, for example, be in the form of a gas lamp, a bottle, or aminiature powder keg, and will be firmly joined to support '1 by clamps,screws, or cement, etc.

Support 1 carries, preferably integrally therewith, a series of upwardlydirected projections including a housing 3 for a fuel reservoir, ahousing 16 for an electric battery B, support posts 10 and 14, and abearing unit 15. Base 2 is detachably mounted on support 1 by means of ascrew, for example, so that it may be easily removed to permit thereplacement of battery B or of the fuel reservoir through suitablepassages arranged in support 1 (see FIGURES 3, 4a and 4b).

The fuel reservoir, which in the preferred embodiment contains a gaseousfuel such as butane, comprises, at its upper end, a suitablemechanically actuated, gas release valve; this reservoir may be securelypositioned by any known means such as the compression spring 4,indicated in FIGURES 4, disposed between base 2 and the bottom of thereservoir.

At the top of post 10 there is rigidly mounted, by means of screws forexample, a vibrating switch assembly 25 comprising (see FIGURE 3) astationary contact 26 and a vibratory blade 27, both of which are heldby a stationary support having insulating layers disposed between thecontact 26 and blade 27 and between blade 27 and post 10. Blade 27carries a contact 27 in registry with contact 26.

The structure and mode of electrical connection of switch 25 isidentical with that shown and described in my US. Patent No. 3,193,642,July 6, 1965, with the exception that the structure of the presentinvention employs a different triggering arrangement comprising: a lever5 pivotally mounted, by means of pin 7, between a pair of posts 3projecting upward from the top of housing 3; a tension spring 6connected between an anchoring point 5 on lever 5 and a stationary lug25' on switch 25 for urging lever 5 to pivot downwardly into a positionin which it depresses the fuel reservoir valve and thus opens thepassage between the reservoir and the orifice 9; and a shank 11 havingits upped end bent substantially at right angles to act as an abutmentfinger for abutting against the lower surface of the free end of lever5, said shank being supported for free axial movement in bearing 15 andhaving its lower end rigidly connected to be a flattened bearing member17 which bears against the surface upon which the assembly rests Whennot in use so as to urge the lever shank unit into a rest position. Whenlever 5 is in its rest position, it permits the reservoir valve to closethe passage leading to orifice 9. The rotational movement of theabutment finger of shank 11 is limited by a pair of downwardly directedlegs of a retaining member 5" rigidly fastened on lever 5. In FIGURE 4one half of member 5" has been removed to permit a clear showing of theupper end of shank 11.

Vibrating switch blade 27 carries at its free end a weight 29constituted by a permanent magnet which cooperates with an armature 13rigidly mounted on shank 11 in order to trigger the vibration of blade27 in a manner which will be described below.

Shank 11 is mounted so that it may be rotated through a small angleabout its longitudinal axis, by means of a rotation of bearing member17, in order to cause the lower surface of armature 13 to rest on theupper surface of a horizontal projection of post 10. The height ofprojection 10' is chosen so that when armature 13 rests thereon, blade27 is maintained in a neutral position and lever 5 is held in its restposition. In this state, which is shown in FIGURE 3 and 4a, the assemblyis locked, with contacts 26 and 27' separated, and may be safely shippedor stored without presenting the danger of becoming accidentallyignited.

The fuel igniting electrodes consist of a point electrode 12 and theorifice 9 itself. For this reason, the support 1 and its projections 3and 14, as well as pin 7, lever 5 and, of course, orifice 9 are alldesirably made of conducting material so as to form a low resistancepath between orifice 9 and the electric circuit of switch 25. Theadvantages of this arrangement and the criteria governing the 4-relative positions of orifice 9 and electrode 12 will be discussed indetail below.

The electrical circuit connecting switch 25 to electrodes 9 and 12 isalmost identical to that shown in the abovementioned copendingapplication and comprises a battery B connected in series with theprimary winding of transformer T, the resulting series circuit beingconnected in series with a parallel arrangement of a storage capacitor Cand the contacts 26 and 27' of switch 25, the stationary contact 26being connected to the junction of capacitor C and battery B. Thesecondary of transformer T is connected across the electrodes, one endof this secondary being connected to orifice 9 through support 1 andthrough both pin 7 and a circuit comprising spring 6 and a lug 25 ofswitch 23, which lug is connected to post 10 by means of the metalscrews holding switch 25. Similarly, the common junction of thetransformer primary, capacitor C and contact 27 is connected to support1, the support serving as a ground for the electric circuit.

Battery B is held in place by an insulated plate 18 supported, by a pairof nuts, on a threaded bolt 19 rigidly mounted on housing 16. Plate 18carries a pair of suitable contacts for the battery and serves as asupport for capacitor C. The electrical connections to switch 25 areeffected through the intermediary of two solder terminals (see FIGURE 3)integral with contacts 26 and 27', respectively, and a solder terminalgrounded to support 1 through a conductive screw which holds switch 25in place. As may be seen from FIGURE 3, this latter terminal is directlyconnected to one side of capacitor C and to the terminal associated withcontact 27', while the terminal of contact 26 is connected to the sideof capacitor C which is also connected to one of the battery terminals.

Transformer T is mounted on post 14 in such a way that one end of eachof its windings is grounded to support 1 directly through this post. Theother end of the primary winding is connected to the other batteryterminal and the other end of the secondary winding is connected toelectrode 12, this electrode being mounted, in the embodiment shown,directly on the transformer casing.

It should be appreciated that the positions shown for the variouselectrical components are almost purely arbitrary and are determinedprimarily by their sizes and shapes and by the shape of the spacedefined by the casing which will enclose the entire assembly.

The use of orifice 9 as one of the electrodes of the fuel igniting unitrepresents a substantial improvement over prior art devices whichemployed a pair of electrodes spaced across from one another on oppositesides of the gas flow path. The improvements resulting from thearrangement of the present invention may best be understood by referenceto FIGURE 5 wherein electrodes 12 and 12 represent a prior artarrangement, while electrodes 12 and 9' constitute the structure of thepresent invention.

With the prior art arrangement, an extra electrode 12' was necessary andthe two electrodes had to be relatively far apart because if they wereinserted too far into the flame they would become excessively coatedwith carbon and, as a result, the production of an arc therebetweenwould be rendered more difficult, and because the are produced had toextend into a region where the fuel was mixed with air. Furthermore,they were necessarily so positioned that gas which they were to igniteflowed therebetween. Since most gaseous fuels, such as the commonly usedbutane fuels, are good dielectrics, it resulted that the presence of gasbetween the electrodes increased the voltage gradient required toproduce an arc. It thus resulted that the spacing between the eletcrodesand the presence of gas therebetween made it necessary that a relativelyhigh voltage source, capable of delivering a substantial quantity ofpower, be used.

The electrode structure of the present invention represents asubstantial improvement in several respects. Firstly, it is structurallysimpler because one element serves as both an electrode and the fuelorifice. In addition, the novel electrode arrangement of the presentinvention permits a substantial reduction in both the voltage and thepower required to produce a fuel-igniting arc. This reduction is madepossible (1) by the fact that electrodes 9 and 12 may be moved as closetogether as desired, the distance d between them being determined solelyas a function of the voltage gradient required to produce arcing, andthe length of are necessary to generate sulficient heat to ignite thefuel, and (2) by the fact that when electrode 12 has its tip touchingthe outer surface of the fuel mass, which is the preferred position forthis electrode, the arc is permitted to travel along the outer surfaceof this fuel mass and thus travels through a medium having a smallerdielectric constant than does the gas. This phenomenon naturally resultsfrom the fact that lines of electric force tend to concentrate alongpaths of least resistance. At the same time, the arc is substantially incontact with the fuel mass and hence is capable of efficiently raisingthe fuel to its ignition temperature.

It should be understood that where, as in the present invention, theorifice 9 moves slightly as the lever rotates, the above considerationsare intended to apply to the position of the orifice when the reservoirvalve is fully opened.

The functioning of the above device is also aided by the fact that theinner surface of orifice 9 tapers outwardly towards its outlet extremityso as to cause its upper rim to have a small thickness. This formpresents two advantages in that the tapering tends to cause the fuel toexpand laterally in leaving the orifice, and thus to more effectivelycommunicate with the tip of electrode 12 while the thin orifice rimfacilitates the generation of sparks.

According to variations of this construction, the thickness of the rimmay be further reduced by tapering the outer surface of the upper end oforifice 9 and by shaping this upper end so as to cause it to flairoutwardly.

The operation of the lighter of the present invention may be bestunderstood with reference to FIGURES 3 and 4a, which show the devicelocked in its rest postion, and FIGURE 4b, which shows the deviceunlocked and in its actuated position.

As may be seen in FIGURES 3 and 4a, the apparatus is locked when shank11 has been rotated to a position in which armature 13, which is rigidlyconnected to shank 11, rests on the upper surface of projection In thisposition, the blade 27 is held, by magnet 29, substantially in aposition in which it is subjected to no bending stresses. As a resultblade 27 will be able to preserve its shape during a. long period ofuse. This position is also selected so as to assure that contacts 26 and27a are normally open, thereby permitting battery B to charge upcapacitor C. Once this charging operation has been completed, thebattery current falls substantially to zero since it need only continueto supply the capacitor leakage current. Shank 11 urges lever 5 upwards,against the action of spring 6, into a position where it does not pushdownward, and hence does not open, the fuel reservoir valve. Finally, inthis locked position the bottom surface of bearing element 17 is flushwith the bottom surface of base 2. It thus results that, even if member17 and shank 11 were rotated so as to cause armature 13 to be free ofprojection 10, when base 2 rests on a substantially uniform surface,member 17 would ensure that blade 27 and lever 5 remain in theabove-described positions.

In order to unlock the lighter, it is necessary to rotate member 17 soas to cause armature 13 to clear projection 10'. In the embodimentshown, this would be accomplished by rotating member 17 clockwise, asviewed from the bottom, until the projection on the upper end of shank11 encounters one leg of the retaining element 5" of lever 5. Thelighter is now ready for use;

In order to produce a flame, it is only necessary to pick up theassembly so that member 17 no longer abuts against a surface. Themovement of lever 5 and shank 11 is then primarily controlled by spring6, which urges these two elements downward.

This downward movement produces two simultaneous effects: it causeslever 5 to depress the fuel reservoir valve so as to permit fuel toescape through orifice 9; and it causes armature 13 to move downward andto draw magnet 29 down with it, thereby flexing blade 27 until a pointis reacted where the deflection-resisting force of blade 27 exceeds theforce of magnetic attraction between elements 29 and 13, at which pointmagnet 29 separates from armature 13. The potential energy stored inblade 27 then causes it to vibrate while magnet 29 acts as a weightwhose inertia gives the vibration a relatively large amplitude andinsures that contact 27a will be firmly applied against contact 26.During this vibration, a series of closings and openings are producedbetween these contacts. Each closing causes capacitor C to dischargethrough these contacts and each opening permits the capacitor to rapidlyrecharge, producing an abrupt variation in the current flowing throughthe primary of transformer T, which variation induces a spark betweenthe electrodes. The series of sparks thus produced constitute an arewhich heats the fuel and raises it to its ignition temperature. Thelighter actuating position is shown in FIGURE 4b.

In order to reset the lighter, it is only necessary to rest it on asubstantially uniform surface which will push member 17 back intoengagement with support 1, member 17 then acting to push lever 5 upwardinto a position where it no longer depresses the reservoir valve, and tourge armature 13 into a position where it once again engages magnet 29.

The illustrated embodiment is of course intended to be used with acasing having a certain configuration, and in particular a certainheight. If it were desired to use the same assembly in a taller casing,as indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 1, this could be easily arrangedby placing electrode 12 so that it can pass through an opening in thetop of the casing, which top could, as indicated, be in the form of acandle, and connecting the electrode to transformer T, by mounting asecond orifice, made of conducting material, on the top of the casing inproper spaced relation to electrode 12, and by joining orifice 9 to thesecond orifice by means of a flexible tube. It is of course necessary toensure that this second orifice be electrically connected to thetransformer secondary, preferably through support 1. This may beachieved by making the flexible tube of a conducting material or bymeans of a conductor, which may be painted on the inside surface of thecasing, or constituted by a wire, as indicated, connected betweensupport 1 and the second orifice.

While a single preferred embodiment of the present invention has beenshown and described in detail herein, it should be appreciated that manyvariations and modifications could be made thereto, particularly insofaras concerns the nature and positioning of the electrical components,without departing from the spirit thereof, and that the scope of thepresent invention should therefore be limited only by the breadth of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An automatic fuel lighter comprising, in unitary assembly, a normallyopen vibratory switch having a stationary contact and a vibratory bladecarrying a second contact in registry with said stationary contact, asource of fuel, a pair of electrodes positioned in a region where fuelis to be ignited, an electric circuit connected to said switch contactsand to said electrodes for generating a succession of fuel-ignitingsparks in response to a train of openings and closings between saidswitch contacts each time said switch is caused to vibrate, actuatingmeans for causing said switch to vibrate each time said lighter islifted, said actuating means comprising trigger means for firstdeflecting and then abruptly releasing said vibratory blade, biassingmeans for urging said trigger means in a direction to deflect andrelease said blade, abutment means positioned to rest on the samesurface as said lighter for rendering said biassing means inoperative aslong as said lighter rests on said surface, said blade of said switchbeing cantilever-mounted and having a Weight attached to its free end,said weight being constituted by a magnet and said trigger meanscomprising a ferro-magnetic element positioned to engage said magnet,said source of fuel comprising a reservoir for a fuel to be dispensed ingaseous form, said reservoir having a mechanically openable fuel-releasevalve, said trigger means comprising a lever pivotally mounted foropening said valve when said biassing means are rendered operative, anda shank mounted between one end of said lever and said abutment means,said shank being mounted to move in the direction of its longitudinalaxis, said ferro-m-agnetic element being rigidly connected to saidshank.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 wherein said lever iscantilever-mounted; said shank is attached to the free end of saidlever; and said biassing means is connected at an intermediate point onsaid lever and acts on said lever in such a way as to urge said shankdownward.

3. A device is recited in claim 1 wherein one of said electrodes is inthe form of a fuel outlet orifice mounted to be connected to thereservoir so as to serve as the burner for the lighter.

4. A device as recited in claim 3 wherein the other one of saidelectrodes is positioned to have its tip touch the outer edge of thezone defining the flow of gas out of said orifice.

5. An automatic fuel lighter comprising, in unitary assembly, a normallyopen vibratory switch having a stationary contact and a vibratory bladecarrying a second contact in registry with said stationary contact, asource of fuel comprising a reservoir for a fuel to be dispensed ingaseous form, said reservoir having a mechanically openable fuel-releasevalve, ,a pair of electrodes positioned in a region where fuel is to beignited, an electric circuit connected to said switch contacts and tosaid electrodes for generating a succession of fuel-igniting sparks inresponse to a train of openings and closings between said switch contacteach time said switch is caused to vibrate, actuating means for causingsaid switch to vibrate and for opening said fuel-release valve each timesaid lighter is lifted, said actuating means comprising trigger meansfor first deflecting and then abruptly releasing said vibratory bladeand for opening said fuel-release valve, biassing means for urging saidtrigger means in a direction to deflect and release said blade, andabutment means positioned to rest on the same surface as said lighterfor rendering said biassing means inoperative as long as said lighterrests on said surface and for rendering said biassing means operativeeach time said lighter is lifted.

6. An automatic fuel lighter as claimed in claim 5, said blade of saidswitch being cantilever-mounted and having a weight attached to its freeend, said weight being constituted by a magnet, and the trigger meanscomprising a ferro-magnetic element positioned to engage said magnet.

7. An automatic fuel lighter as claimed in claim 5, said trigger meanscomprising a lever pivotally :mounted for opening said valve when saidbiassing means are rendered operative.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,070,121 2/1937 Gibson 317-812,493,662 1/ 1950 Fitzpatrick 31788 2,536,468 1/1951 Russell 317- 923,193,642 7/1965 Liesse 33589 3,246,207 4/ 1966 Remy 31781 ANTHONYBARTIS, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD M. WOOD, Examiner.

V. Y. MAYEWSKY, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN AUTOMATIC FUEL LIGHTER COMPRISING, IN UNITARY ASSEMBLY, A NORMALLYOPEN VIBRATORY SWITCH HAVING A STATIONARY CONTACT AND A VIBRATORY BLADECARRYING A SECOND CONTACT IN REGISTRY WITH SAID STATIONARY CONTACT, ASOURCE OF FUEL, A PAIR OF ELECTRODES POSITIONED IN A REGION WHERE FUELIS TO BE IGNITED, AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONNECTED TO SAID SWITCH CONTACTSAND TO SAID ELECTRODES FOR GENERATING A SUCCESSION OF FUEL-IGNITINGSPARKS IN RESPONSE TO A TRAIN OF OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS BETWEEN SAIDSWITCH CONTACTS EACH TIME SAID SWITCH IS CAUSED TO VIBRATE, ACTUATINGMEANS FOR CAUSING SAID SWITCH TO VIBRATE EACH TIME SAID LIGHTER ISLIFTED, SAID ACTUATING MEANS COMPRISING TRIGGER MEANS FOR FIRSTDEFLECTING AND THEN ABRUPTLY RELEASING SAID VIBRATORY BLADE, BIASSINGMEANS FOR URGING SAID TRIGGER MEANS IN A DIRECTION OF DEFLECT ANDRELEASE SAID BLADE, ABUTMENT MEANS POSITIONED TO REST ON THE SAMESURFACE AS SAID LIGHTER FOR RENDERING SAID BIASSING MEANS INOPERATIVE ASLONG AS SAID LIGHTER RESTS ON SAID SURFACE, SAID BLADE OF SAID SWITCHBEING CANTILEVER-MOUNTED AND HAVING A WEIGHT ATTACHED TO ITS FREE END,SAID WEIGHT BEING CONSTITUTED BY A MAGNET AND SAID TRIGGER MEANSCOMPRISING A FERRO-MAGNETIC ELEMENT POSITIONED TO ENGAGE SAID MAGNET,SAID SOURCE OF FUEL COMPRISING A RESERVOIR FOR A FUEL TO BE DISPENSED INGASEOUS FORM, SAID RESERVOIR HAVING A MECHANICALLY OPENABLE FUEL-RELEASEVALVE, SAID TRIGGER MEANS COMPRISING A LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED FOROPENING SAID VALVE WHEN SAID BIASSING MEANS ARE RENDERED OPERATIVE, ANDA SHANK MOUNTED BETWEEN ONE END OF SAID LEVER AND SAID ABUTMENT MEANS,SAID SHANK BEING MOUNTED TO MOVE IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS LONGITUDINALAXIS, SAID FERRO-MAGNETIC ELEMENT BEING RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO SAID SHANK.